Shadows in Flight
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Shadows in Flight'' is a
science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
novella by American writer
Orson Scott Card Orson Scott Card (born August 24, 1951) is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is the first and (as of 2022) only person to win both a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for both ...
. When released in 2012, it became the twelfth book published in the ''Ender's Game'' series. The story follows on from where the original four "Shadow series" books left off. It is about Bean and his children discovering an ancient Formic "
ark Ark or ARK may refer to: Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva'' * Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood * Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses Hebrew ''aron'' * ...
" during their journey in space. It was released in January of 2012. It was nominated for the Goodreads Choice Award for science fiction.


Plot

In 2210, the starship ''Herodotus'' left
Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
. On board were Julian "Bean" Delphiki and his three infant children – Ender, Carlotta, and Cincinnatus – all of whom have
Anton's Key The ''Ender's Game'' series (often referred to as the ''Ender'' saga and also the Enderverse) is a series of science fiction books written by American author Orson Scott Card. The series started with the novelette ''Ender's Game'', which was la ...
turned. This genetic alteration, which Bean passed to his children, grants them all extremely high
intelligence Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can b ...
, but causes their bodies to grow uncontrollably, which is likely to kill them by the age of 20. Subjectively, they have been flying near light-speed for five years, but relativistic effects mean that 421 years have passed on Earth – the year is now 2631. When the family left, scientists were actively trying to find a cure for their
giantism Gigantism ( el, γίγας, ''gígas'', "giant", plural γίγαντες, ''gígantes''), also known as giantism, is a condition characterized by excessive growth and height significantly above average. In humans, this condition is caused by ove ...
which would not diminish their intelligence. Several generations have passed, they have been forgotten, and their mother and "normal" siblings have died centuries ago. The children have only been alive for six subjective years. Bean's life has been extended by the low gravity on board the ''Herodotus'', which allows his heart to keep beating despite his increasingly gigantic size. At tall, Bean must remain prone in the cargo bay so as not to overexert himself. He controls and watches everything on the ship through his holo-top terminal, often prompting the children to have secret meetings they believe the Giant cannot hear. Bean and Ender continue to study their genetic condition in the hope of finding a cure. In one of these meetings, the militarily-minded Cincinnatus (nicknamed "Sergeant") tries to enlist the aid of his siblings in killing their father, saying he is a drain on resources. The sensitive Carlotta (whose specialty is engineering) is unwilling to take a stance, but Ender (an expert biologist) punches Sergeant and breaks his nose for proposing such an idea, thus ending his brother's domination over the family. Ender and Carlotta tell Bean about Sergeant's plans, and Bean puts all three children in their place, reminding them they are each as intelligent as the other. Sergeant has been imagining threats to their security where there are none, because he believes the Giant means to pass his soldier role onto him. So he studies the Formic war vids, learning his father's strategy while training himself with weaponry. Ender takes on the bulk of the genetic studies by monitoring the advances made by the scientists on Earth. Carlotta, who feels slightly left behind with the genetic studies serves the family by taking care of every aspect of the spacecraft, since Bean himself is stuck in the cargo hold. After despairing at the condition of their lives, and in the light of the discovery that their condition cannot be cured, Carlotta notices an unknown spacecraft in geosync orbit around an uncharted planet in the
Goldilocks zone In astronomy and astrobiology, the circumstellar habitable zone (CHZ), or simply the habitable zone, is the range of orbits around a star within which a planetary surface can support liquid water given sufficient atmospheric pressure.J. F. Ka ...
. Bean and his children deliberate courses of action. If they alter their course, they must slow down to turn, possibly killing Bean with the increased gravity. However, they cannot anticipate who or what is in the spacecraft; it may attack them, or they may be detrimental to the survival and progression of the human race. This hypothesis is solidified when Sergeant deduces that the ship is a Formic Ark, a colony ship that has been in flight for centuries. Bean sends Sergeant alone to investigate the ship, and he escapes an attack by small Formic-like animals they call "rabs" (rats+crabs). After this initial encounter, Bean reveals his full plan to his children. They must find out who is piloting this ship and attempting to terraform the planet it orbits. It was Bean's intention all along to have his children live on this planet and found their new species in safety as soon as he picked it up on radar as lying within the Goldilocks zone. Armed with Sergeant's weapons and a sedative fog spray Ender devised, Sergeant commands defenses as Carlotta leads their group to the helm with Bean in contact the whole time. The spray proves effective, and they soon find the
Hive Queen ''This literature-related list is incomplete; you can help by to include characters from the First Formic War trilogy.'' This is a partial list of characters in the ''Ender's Game'' series. Wiggin family * Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is the prota ...
's chamber, finding her, and many workers, dead. Eventually they find living male Formics in one of the piloting helms. In an attempt to communicate, Ender surrenders himself by drifting close to them in zero gravity. The male drones come close and communicate with Ender via mental images. The group learns that the Ark was sent long before Ender Wiggin, whom Bean's son is named for, wiped out the buggers. After the Queen on their ship died, the workers died without her link, yet the males lived and tried to survive and keep the ship running, despite losing numbers to the feral rabs. The group strikes a deal that if the children can wipe out the rabs, they can stay with the Formics and help cultivate the planet. When Bean learns from the male drones that Ender Wiggin is carrying a queen's cocoon looking for a home, and that Formic workers do have minds of their own contrary to popular belief, he demands to speak with the Formics in order to warn Ender, despite risking his life in the journey. Accepting that his children have achieved beyond his wildest expectations, Bean risks his life by docking with the ark's cargo hold to float down into the ecotat. Lying in the grass and basking in the artificial sunlight, Bean communes for three days with the formic males. Though the Formics think it is silly to believe the Queen would hide anything from them, Bean learns that workers could rebel against a Queen and regain their free will. After Bean has slept for a while, his children wake him, informing him that by studying how the
Hive Queen ''This literature-related list is incomplete; you can help by to include characters from the First Formic War trilogy.'' This is a partial list of characters in the ''Ender's Game'' series. Wiggin family * Andrew "Ender" Wiggin is the prota ...
suppresses her workers, Ender has devised and administered a virus that will develop an organelle to shut off their growth genome, leaving their intelligence intact but saving them from the giantism half of Anton's Key. With renewed hope for the future, Bean looks at the beauty around him and remembers all those whom he loved and who loved him in his life. With his children's help, he stands at four and a half meters for the first time in years, and walks with labored breathing in the sunlight. Happy for his children and for his own short but brilliant life, Bean lies down and dies in peace.


See also

*
The Last Shadow ''The Last Shadow'' is a 2021 science fiction novel by American writer Orson Scott Card, part of his Ender's Game (series), ''Ender's Game'' series. It links the Shadow Saga (the parallel companion series) back to the original Ender series. This ...
* List of ''Ender's Game'' characters *
List of works by Orson Scott Card The Orson Scott Card bibliography contains a list of works published by Orson Scott Card. Ender's Game The Tales of Alvin Maker The Homecoming Saga Women of Genesis Pastwatch series Mithermages series Mayflower ''Mayflower ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shadows In Flight American science fiction novels Ender's Game series books Novels set in the 27th century Tor Books books